holiday

July 4th!

July 3, 2015 by mollygilbert520 1 Comment

I’M HEADED FOR YOU, AMERICA!

I’ve had one fantastic trip to Europe, but I’m real glad to come home this weekend. I’ve been dreaming of peanut butter. Of burgers and beers and flag cake. Of FREEDOM, y’know?

If you’re looking for a few last minute ideas for your 4th of July celebration, allow me to suggest these (both delicious AND patriotic) gems:

The brownie berry tart! A good idea always.

Marionberry pie (or a mix of blue- and- blackberry, if you like) could be fantastic. I’m imagining tiny stars cut out of the top crust instead of circles? #America.

A smoother, creamier pie option is this sour cream and fresh strawberry number.

You could always be everyone’s favorite person and just make red berries and cream pops! Yep yep.

Swap out the lilac in these strawberry lilac pavlovas for some fresh blueberries and you’re in business, Betsy.

Happy Fourth of July, America! I love you more than croissants. Mostly.

Cutest Macaroon Easter Nests

April 3, 2015 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

I’ve been so preoccupied with dealing with all of the boxes in our house (the boxes, my god, the boxes! Let it be known that moving is just a lesson in setting up/breaking down boxes,) and lamenting the fact that, due to said boxes (and the chaotic state of our new home, in general), it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to pull off a Seder for Passover this year, I almost forgot that it’s Easter weekend, too!

(#Jew…ish.)

My lovely in-laws are hosting Easter on Sunday and, because they know what’s what, they’ve put me in charge of dessert. I had big plans to make Deb’s raspberry macaroons and maybe even a flourless chocolate cake in a nod to the (begrudgingly neglected, by me) Passover holiday, but then I saw these little munchkins on Martha Stewart’s instagram and that was that.

I mean, HOW CUTE are these guys?

The facts: they only use 4 ingredients (plus a bit of chocolate and mini eggs, for decorating). They take less than 30 minutes to bake. They are a bonafide excuse to buy a big bag of miniature chocolate easter eggs.

So WHAT are you waiting for? Easter weekend baking project — begin!

…

Chocolate Stout Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

March 9, 2015 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

A few things that have recently blown my mind:

1. The amount of money someone needs, on their actual person, to buy a house. It’s… a lot of dollas. YIKES.

2. The kid who played Jimmy Woods in The Wizard is the SAME KID who played Les in Newsies AND Billy Heywood in Little Big League. THIS GUY’S CAREER THOUGH!

3. The correct way to say it is “Daylight Saving Time.” “Daylight Savings” isn’t a thing. WHO KNEW??

4. This cake. THE CAKE, MY GOD, THE CAKE.

Let’s talk about number four.

THIS CAKE. I think it’s my best one yet. (And as someone who’s made their fare share of chocolate cakes over the years, that is saying something.)

I made it for you to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, which is in a week. I’m not particularly keen on St. Patty’s, but any excuse to lick cream cheese frosting from the beaters is fine by me. Hooray for St. Patrick!

The dark stout in the batter is a dream – it really brings out the chocolate flavor and helps create a sturdy, moist crumb. And the chocolate cream cheese frosting? Smooth and dense and oh so luscious. It’s the perfect balance of deep chocolate flavor and bright, light tang. It’s like heaven on an offset spatula.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! (Yes, past tense did. It was a huge cake and now it’s definitely gone because we finished it.)

Still, it’s nice to know that even if we are low on dollas, we’re absolutely RICH with cake.

For the full recipe, head over to the Page-A-Day Blog from Workman Publishing!